Careers

Description:

The Environmental Health and Safety Department (EH&S) has an outstanding opportunity for a Public Health Specialist in the EH&S Environmental Public Health (EPH) unit. This Public Health Specialist will be primarily supporting the University’s Food Safety Program, including temporary food establishment safety and permitting. This position will review, inspect, and certify food establishments at the University. This position is part of the EPH team, which manages and implements the University-wide food safety, drinking water safety, pest control and zoonotic disease prevention, and recreational water (pool and spa) safety programs.

This position supports the University’s efforts to ensure a healthy and safe campus environment, and serves as a key conduit between non-university parties, student organizations, and health and safety oversight bodies.   The Public Health Specialist must coordinate and collaborate with diverse stakeholders such as students, faculty, staff, vendors, and event organizers. This is an applied public health sciences role- requiring an understanding of the microbiology/environmental health interface as well as the state and local food safety and public health requirements, while applying these to UW food establishments and providing oversight in an educational, service-oriented manner. Occasional interfacing with local regulators may also be needed. Strong interpersonal communication skills are key.

The EH&S department works in partnership with the University’s organizational units to meet occupational and environmental safety standards to provide a healthy and safe place of employment, and to protect our environment. This position will directly contribute to and be accountable for creating and sustaining a culture of service, accountability, and excellence within the department. Additionally, this position will help to adopt strategic planning initiatives and support data gathering for metrics and performance monitoring to ensure organizational efficiencies and desired outcomes are met. This position will adopt and align work processes and practices to support the values of EH&S including accountability, collaboration, diversity, efficiency, and excellence.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Food Safety (75 %)

•           Lead the coordination, review, and approval of temporary food establishment and food serving events, ensuring they align with university and public health standards for event coordination and approval.
•           Verify the completeness and accuracy of applications for temporary food events to ensure they comply with all relevant regulations as part of application verification.
•           Perform detailed inspections according to food code  requirements and collaborate with stakeholders during event planning, providing expert consultation to enhance food safety through inspection and consultation.
•           Prepare inspection packages and coordinate efforts to provide all necessary documentation to support staff effectively in inspection preparation.
•           Create and implement training for students and personnel, such as those in Registered Student Organizations (RSO), to promote food safety awareness as part of training development.
•           Collaborate with EH&S Senior Environmental Public Health practitioners to develop educational materials and presentations for temporary events, ensuring the EH&S website’s content is current in outreach and education.
•           Serve as the primary contact for temporary food permits with RSOs, the Student Activity Office (SAO), event coordinators, Housing and Food Services (HFS), and event organizers, building strong relationships and aligning with public health goals through stakeholder engagement.
•           Provide additional support for non-temporary food safety programming as requested by EPH manager, contributing to business continuity during staff absence or peak operational periods.
•           May help schedule staff calendars for inspections to ensure adequate support and effective deployment for temporary events in staff coordination. 
•           Foster a collaborative work environment, promoting teamwork, innovation, and a culture of safety and inclusivity in team collaboration.

Other Public Health Duties (20%)

•           Respond to public health inquiries and concerns.
•           Provide continuous surveillance over environmental health hazards.
•           Share information about emerging environmental health issues with EH&S leadership and partners.
•           Assess general public health and safety needs of UW work locations, including those engaged in temporary food events, and help ensure they are adequately addressed.
•           Investigate environmental health risk factors associated with disease outbreaks on campus whenever necessary, and cooperate with state and/or local health officials to implement needed environmental health programs to control identified diseases.
•           Assist with after-hours public health and/or disease investigation and response activities.
•           Assist in the development and delivery of environmental and occupational health and safety education and training.
•           Support and actively coordinate with other EH&S sections to support campus needs, requests for service, and efforts regarding  public and environmental health that impact the work environment (e.g., workplace safety, zoonotic disease field research, lab research safety, and drinking water quality).

Other EH&S Duties (5%)

•           Participate in Environmental Health & Safety teams, meetings, and trainings.
•           Participate in program development projects as needed.
•           Provide information requested regarding workload, environmental health indicators, and environmental public health performance measures.
•           Other related duties, as assigned.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

•  Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Public Health, Environmental Health, Microbiology, Industrial Hygiene, Occupational Health, or related field.
•  Three years’ experience in public or environmental health.

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

•  Excellent communication and interpersonal skills for effective outreach and engagement.
•  Ability to work both independently and as part of a team, with strong leadership qualities.
•  Dedicated to fostering a culture of safety, inclusivity, and ongoing improvement

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in public health and/or food safety regulations
• Experience in reviewing and approving temporary food permit applications.
• Comprehensive knowledge of public health principles, food safety regulations, and inspection protocols.
• Registered Sanitarian certificate from the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) or the Washington State Environmental Health Association (WSBRS)
• Knowledge of federal, Washington state, and local environmental health regulations
• Demonstrated knowledge of food sampling techniques, including sample handling procedures and protocols
• Experience, collecting, analyzing and interpreting program data